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Friday, November 4, 2016

YES ON 4 draws a crowd

Health care groups, Chambers of
Commerce, and organizations around the state are lining up to urge Rhode
Islanders to “Vote yes on Question 4.”

If approved by Rhode Island voters on
Nov. 8, the Question 4 bond referendum would provide $45.5 million for
improvements to and expansion of the University of Rhode Island’s College of
Engineering facilities and for development of a URI Affiliated Innovation
Campus Program.

Approval of Question 4 has been endorsed
by:

Greater
Providence Chamber of Commerce,

Hospital
Association of Rhode Island,

Lifespan,

The Providence Journal,

Northern
Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce,

Providence Business News,

The
Providence Foundation,

Rhode
Island American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO),

Rhode
Island Builders Association,

Rhode
Island Building and Construction Trades.

Rhode
Island Commodores,

East
Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and

Rhode
Island Medical Society.

In an opinion piece inThe
Providence Journal, Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence
Chamber of Commerce, urged voters to approve Question 4.

“We often talk about the best strategies
to keep students who study locally from leaving our state when they graduate,”
White wrote. “To be sure, Rhode Island has some of the finest academic
institutions in the world. Yet for a long time, we have witnessed the exodus of
many of our top brains due to a shortage of high wage, high skill jobs.”

But White added that the trend is
changing, due in large part to Rhode Islanders’ support of major facilities
expansions and new construction at the state’s public university and colleges.
She noted that when she was a student at URI Bliss Hall was the “grand” gateway
to the College of Engineering. But modern engineering teaching and research
require something very different than what was envisioned in 1928 when Bliss
was built.

“Bricks and mortar matters and here’s
why,” White said. “Top faculty recruits want to teach in state-of-the-art
building. State-of-the-art buildings draw top faculty recruits. Top faculty
recruits draw the best students. The best students draw top employers. Top
employers generate jobs for local students. So it is a virtuous circle.”

“We are strongly encouraged by
endorsements from so many leading Rhode Island firms and agencies,” URI
President David M. Dooley said.

“Such support is a testament to URI’s role in
helping build a vibrant economy in Rhode Island. These endorsements also
illustrate the impact of URI’s College of Engineering on a variety of
industries and businesses, including its research and education in the areas of
biomedical science and health care, road and bridge design and construction,
product development in the detection of explosives and the effects of
explosions on the structural integrity of buildings and marine vessels. We are
deeply grateful for this support.”

Raymond M. Wright, dean of the College
of Engineering, said such support is an indicator of the respect Rhode Island
businesses have for the College and for the value it brings to those companies.

“We believe it is critical to the
strength of our state and to its flagship research university to have strong
relationships between Rhode Island industry and our faculty and staff,” Wright
said. “From developing smart textiles for those with Parkinson’s disease, to
customizing toy electric cars for children with disabilities, the College is
committed to making the state better, stronger and healthier.”

Now more than ever, the business
community is seeking greater numbers of engineers because engineering is at the
heart of just about every process relied upon by contemporary society—whether
it is curing disease, improving the planet or designing the next supercomputer,
according to White.

“The Greater Providence chamber of
Commerce has consistently championed spending proposals that help URI and our
other public institutions of higher education prepare students to think
critically and achieve professional success. In that spirit, we are urging
Rhode Islanders to ‘Vote Yes on 4.’ And on the way to the voting booth, share
this message with all of the youngsters you know: ‘Become an engineer. The job
of your dreams awaits. Your work will change the world’,” White said.

The Providence Journal also endorsed a
“yes” vote on 4, and stated in its editorial that: “While these measures
involve spending, they should be viewed as sound investments in Rhode Island’s
economy. “We have long argued that the state has done taxpayers no favors by
scrimping on public higher education.

“Engineering and innovation go hand in
hand, and Rhode Island is not alone among states seeking to invest in these
areas. Indeed, Rhode Island would be hard-pressed to find an area more worthy
of investment.”

Providence Business Newsalso offered its
endorsement in an editorial. It said: The future health of the state depends on
building a more robust economy, and nothing is more robust than constant
innovation. This ballot initiative proposes using $45.5 million to finish the
upgrades to the University of Rhode Island’s engineering college as well as creating
an innovation center connected to URI. Vote Yes.”

Thought for the day

Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC! Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!

Individual One’s tweet at 4:52 AM - 17 Feb 2019 after a long, hard day of playing golf at Mar-A-Lago on Day Two of our “national emergency.”

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